Faulkner is confident that Villa’s reputation as a club remains strong, even though the first team has dropped from 6th to 16th place in the Premier League in the space of two seasons.

“I think there’s an awful lot of reasons you would want to come to Aston Villa.

“You look at the size of the club, you look at the infrastructure that we have here, both the facility at the training ground is one of the best in the country and our academy is one of the best in the country, our stadium is one of the best in the country, we have a fantastic owner who loves the club and has supported his managers, the club’s history, the fans are phenomenal, why would you not want to come here?

“That’s what Villa is, it’s a great club. Now, the past two years the first team has struggled but Aston Villa as a club is very strong.”

“We know there needs to be improvement and that’s what we’re going to be aiming for.”

Faulkner acknowledges the fans’ frustrations during the ill-fated McLeish reign, but hopes the claret and blue faithful will continue to support the club and embrace the new era.

“The fans have been great and they supported the team throughout,” he said.

“I know there has been a lot of focus on some of the attitudes towards the managers but the fans have been fantastic and really stuck by the team throughout.

“It’s important that any guy comes in can start winning and utilise what we have at the club and the fans will support them.

“It’s now a fresh start for us. The 2011/12 season is gone, obviously the decision has been made with Alex and for us now it’s all about the future.

“It’s about the new manager, it’s about next season, it’s about bouncing back and getting Villa back where we should be, where we feel we should be.”

Faulkner admits he has fielded countless calls expressing an interest in the job, but is refusing to put an exact timeframe on making an appointment.

“My phone has been going non-stop since yesterday,” he said.

“We are very focused on this and we will give it absolutely everything.

“Obviously there’s lots of people to discuss and consult and take advice from and that will be done. We will move forward and aim to get the right man and the best man possible for Aston Villa.

“I think you never want to put a timeframe on it. Obviously we made a decision very quickly at the end of the season on Alex and so now our aim is to bring somebody in as soon as we can.

“The time element is something we only control a part of but we don’t want to hang around now.”